About Darbee
“ If I could I’d tell you now there are no roads that do not bend”~Kate Wolf, These Times We’re Living In.
Darbee’s artistic talent was first recognized by her junior high art teacher Susan Andrews, who selected one of her pastel drawings for an honorary exhibit in 1969. What a relief it was for Darbee to find her talent in the visual arts as she was the tone deaf daughter of a pianist and singer.
Darbee pursued the visual arts through high school creating a portfolio for art school admission. She was both a fine arts major and an art education major at the State University College at New Paltz, New York, class of 1977.
Upon graduation, she began teaching art in upstate New York public schools (1977-1981) .She completed graduate studies at Syracuse University and SUNY New Paltz (1978-1981) and then moved to Indonesia where she taught at the Jakarta International School (1981-1983).
Returning to the US mainland, she took a break from teaching and worked as a photographer and as an advertising director (1983-1987).
She tried public school teaching one more time and received tenure at Dryden Central School, NYS (1987-1995). Darbee was mostly single during these years of teaching and was also a prolific fine artist. It was during these years that she created a body of intense visionary artwork, soon to be published.
Then Hawaii called! Moving to Maui in 1996, Darbee met her twin soul, Robert Wearn at The Lahaina Art Society. Robert is also her husband . Why twin souls? They are both the oldest of three children, they are the free spirited artists who left their traditional middle class families on the east coast to spend their lives in paradise.
From 1996-2005, Darbee earned her living from her painting sales and as an art consultant. The paintings that she has created in Hawaii have been more light hearted than the ones created in New York in the depths of the winter. She is the artist of many portfolios of work and her work is widely collected.
In 2005, Darbee took on a 3rd career as a realtor. She enjoys the community involvement and assisting others achieve their dreams.
She and Robert continue to be active artists. Robert is a plein air painter and a master airbrush artist.. Darbee is a studio painter. Earning a living on a small island in the middle of the Pacific often calls for versatility. They both do murals, faux finishes and the occasional remodeling projects.
